Better Be Grateful
by StrykingShadows
Summary: With nothing left of Papyrus except a note begging him to take care of the brat and the brat themself, it was going to take all of Sans' self control to get through this version of events.
1. Again, But Also Not

**Hey guys. So, after a long period of inactivity, this is where I end up. In the Undertale fandom, just like pretty much everyone else I talk to. I have not perused this fandom's stories yet, however, so I don't know if this has been done or not. Sans may seem a bit OOC, but I did my best to keep him reacting like I thought he would in this situation. Anyways, gimme some feedback if you'd like. This may or may not become a little universe all on its own.**

 **Also, let me know if I should go back and edit Sans' speech to fit grammar rules. I can't decide if I like it or not.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Undertale. I wish I was genius enough to come up with such awesomeness though.**

* * *

 _"SANS. IT APPEARS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WAS UNABLE TO CAPTURE THE HUMAN. THAT IS OKAY. THE HUMAN IS QUITE THE FIGHTER, THOUGH I, PAPYRUS, WAS VERY MUCH ABLE TO TELL THAT THEY WERE TERRIFIED. I COULD TELL SO ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY COLLAPSED BESIDE ME AFTER DEALING THE FINAL BLOW. THEY REFUSED TO CEASE THEIR APOLOGIES UNTIL I REQUESTED A PIECE OF PAPER._

 _I DID NOT THINK TO ASK FOR A PEN._

 _LUCKILY, THEY ALSO HAD ONE OF THOSE TUCKED AWAY IN THEIR POCKET, ALONG WITH THIS 'HOMEWORK'._

 _HOWEVER, I AM RUNNING OUT OF TIME TO FINISH THIS LETER._

 _THE HUMAN IS A GOOD PERSON, SANS. SO PLEASE. TAKE CARE OF THEM. THEY CERTAINLY DID NOT MEAN TO FINISH ME LIKE THIS. I MUST HAVE PRESSED THEM TOO HARD. THEY DO NOT KNOW THEIR WAY AROUND THIS WORLD. THEY DO NOT KNOW THE ANIMOSITY THE HUMANS OF THE PAST HAVE FACED._

 _PROTECT THEM FROM THAT._

 _PROTECT THEM FROM UNDYNE._

 _I KNOW YOU ARE PROBABLY VERY MAD AT THE HUMAN. SO, IF NEED BE, PROTECT THEM FROM YOURSELF._

 _AND COME SOON, SANS. I DO NOT THINK THE HUMAN CAN WITHSTAND THE COLD MUCH LONGER._

 _AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD LIKE YOU TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE THE BEST BROTHER A SKLETON COULD ASK FOR._

 _PLEASE FINISH OFF THE SPAGHETTI IN THE FRIDGE._

 _-IN AWESOMENESS,_

 _THE GREAT PAPY"_

Sans's fingers curled around the paper in his hands, crinkling the edges. The soft sound of the human's sobbing met his ears, and his gaze, one bright blue eye burning in rage, turned towards the prone form. The human was wrapped up in Papyrus' tattered cape, probably under the younger monster's insistence so the brat didn't freeze. The red- so close to the crimson of blood- was stark against the white of the snow around the two. The human- Frisk- was sobbing and shaking, mumbling apologies under their breath. Sans slowly exhaled, and, glancing at the note left from Papyrus once more, turned toward the human. He gingerly folded up the letter and stuck it in his hoodie pocket.

Frisks' whimpering quieted as Sans approached and they instinctively ducked beneath the flapping cape, squeezing their eyes shut. Sans crouched beside the human, giving them an appraising once over. Their lips were pale, icy blue and beads of ice and snow clung to their hair. Their body trembled in Sans' arms as he picked up the kid. He sighed, firmly repeating Papyrus' words to himself as he readjusted the human to a more secure hold.

"c'mon, kiddo. let's get you warm."

Frisk buried their head in Sans' hoodie, continuing to cry. He managed to keep looking straight ahead as he charged through the snow.

 _keep the human safe. yeah right. they obviously don't need protection if they could take you out…_

It would be so easy to just _crush_ the little shit right there, right then. Just a quick squeeze and bam, no more human, no more kiddo, last soul obtained let's go through the barrier Sans is the hero that saved the Underground all hail the brotherless monster.

 _damn…_

It took all of Sans' willpower to make it back to Snowdin without further harm to the kid, even though they had fallen worryingly silent about halfway back to town. He kicked open his front door and stood in front of the couch for what seemed like ages, debating whether to lay Frisk there or not. The couch was pressed right up against the wall and, while it was usually no problem for a bunch of bones, having the human right beneath one of the draftiest parts of the house wouldn't really help the kid get warm at all. Which left his bed or… Papyrus'. And while Sans knew the kid was completely capable of understanding the complexities of his room (they were the one doing all the resetting, after all, though whether they remembered it or not would be determined later), he wasn't really up to explaining the intricacies of time travel at the moment.

Which left only Papyrus' room as an option.

Sans glared half-heartedly at the kid, who hadn't responded to the warmth of the house at all, and laid them on the couch with a blanket draped over them while Sans left to prepare his brother's room for Frisk.

Now. Sans was not a hardworking guy. Anyone who had met the skeleton would tell you that, and Sans would be the first to make sure you knew. However, with his brother's plea racing through his head, Sans went through all the motions of setting up the room- he changed the sheets, dug out several blankets (although he admittedly did not wash them, despite their slightly musty smell), and he cranked up the heating to help Frisk thaw out.

He strolled back into the living room (he wasn't _that_ concerned for the brother killer, after all), and hoisted the human into his arms once more, and tucked Frisk in to his brother's racecar bed. He pulled the covers up to the child's chin and (ugh) tucked them in, making sure they would soon get warm.

Sans took the chair in front of Papyrus' computer and, removing Papyrus' note from his hoodie, sat down to wait.

He put his head in his hands and cried.

* * *

A small groan startled Sans from his slumber. He lifted his head off his arm and stared bleakly at the computer screen, which had woken at the pressure of Sans' face and, having been opened to an unfinished status update on one of Papyrus' social media sites (I HAVE FINALLY SPOTTED A HUMAN. SOON I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL BE OF THE OF THE ROYAL GUARD, AND EVERYONE WILL-), had entered in a loooooong line of "NNNNN"s onto the status. Sans quietly turned away from the computer to look at Frisk.

They looked utterly confused and very, very frightened. Perhaps, Sans reflected as the kid began flailing about, tucking in the covers so tight they couldn't move had been a bad idea. He stood and stuck his hands in his hoodie pocket as he ambled to the human's side. Frisk froze as Sans approached. Sans forced a grin.

"hey, kiddo. you look bone tired."

They slowly relaxed when time made it apparent that Sans wasn't going to harm them- immediately, anyways. Frisk managed to work their upper body free of the blanket taco and sit up. They licked their chapped lips nervously as Sans- his expression without his usual grin- sat at the foot of the bed.

"I… I didn't mean to… I just… he came at me and I didn't know what to do," Frisk sniffled, beginning to tear up. Sans watched solemnly. "So I just… My teacher at school said to always try and defend myself, so I did, and I hit him, but he kept _coming at me_ and I just… I did what they told me to do and kept defending myself but _I never thought I would kill him_ I swear!"

Frisk pulled their knees up to their chest and sobbed into the blankets. Sans' thoughts began waging war with themselves- though one side sounded an awful lot like Papyrus. On one hand, this simple kid had killed his brother. Robbed him of the only person Sans really bothered to care about (aside from his knock knock joke buddy). On the other, they looked really freaked out whenever they so much as looked at themselves and studiously avoided Sans' gaze. The child- for all the havoc they had wrecked in Sans' life- was clearly horrified by their own actions, and it was, no matter how absurd it sounded to _accidentally kill someone in battle_ , an accident.

"Sans, I'm so… I'm so sorry," Frisk all but wailed into the blanket. "I'm so so sorry… I would have turned tail and run if I had known that was how it was going to end. I-I swear…"

Either way, hearing the broken, spastic sobs emanating from the small frame was really beginning to tug on his heartstrings.

"hey." Frisk's head snapped up. "calm down. i'm not going to get revenge or do anything else drastic like that."

"…You should," Frisk muttered, though they obligingly stopped crying. "It would make it a little better."

"not really," Sans returned, reluctantly beginning to feel a bit of pity for the kid. The metaphorical blood on their hands must really weigh then down, especially if they never meant to kill Papyrus. "your death wouldn't bring him back."

Frisk looked up, seemingly startled by the statement. "N-no, but… I wouldn't be able to… to go on and kill anyone else…"

"that's not gonna happen either," Sans shrugs. "cuz i'm here to keep an eye on you. i don't think you would really do anything regarding battle hastily anytime soon though."

Frisk firmly shook their head.

"there you go then."

"…" The human clearly wasn't going to let go of their brooding that easily, but Sans could only reassure the child with words he himself didn't one hundred percent believe for so long. He stood, suddenly desperate to be away from the intruder.

"rest some more, okay kiddo? i'll check on you later."

He was almost out the door when Frisk's soft voice reached him.

"I really am sorry…"

Sans paused.

"…I know."

He firmly closed the door behind him.


	2. Friskion

**Hey, guys, Stry here. Um. I'm not entirely happy with this one. Neither Sans or Frisk wanted to work with me, and then they wanted to talk forever (a good portion of this scene was cut) and then _Undyne_ wanted to come in and I had to truss her up and stick her in a closet until she stopped whining. She's still in there.**

 **Have I mentioned how OOC Sans is and how much it annoys me? 'M not the most humorous of people, so I really struggle. I'm better at angst, and we see how that's going with Papyrus gone.**

 **Also, thank you to everyone who followed, favorite, and reviewed. It's so exciting and encouraging.**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned Undertale then I would have written it and _not_ be struggling so badly with these characters.**

* * *

Sans wasn't any more ready to face Frisk the next day. The human had remained in Papyrus' room, avoiding Sans' judgmental gaze. The monster hadn't _intended_ on scaring the kid so badly that they were afraid to leave the room. But Sans had thought they were safe when they had emerged from the Ruins unbloodied. He felt betrayed, even more so than when Frisk gave in to the voice in their head.

Then again, considering the circumstances, the most likely reason they refused to emerge from the room was shame. Sans didn't have to be Alphys or Gaster to figure out the kid was horribly torn up over Papyrus' death.

That didn't mollify him too much.

Sans opened the fridge, staring blankly at the piles of spaghetti contained in little plastic boxes. Reluctantly, he removed one of the plastic containers and popped the lid off. When no toxic fumes rose from the spaghetti, Sans sighed and dug out a metal pan and scooped the spaghetti into it. The fire on the stove lit with a snap of his fingers.

"damn, bro. could you have managed to glue this stuff together any more than this?" Sans muttered to empty air, trying to pry apart the noodles so they would warm more evenly. The efforts he made for this kid.

Once the spaghetti was heated enough to be decent, Sans pulled a couple plates from the cabinet and, after piling a generous amount of spaghetti on them, set them on the counter. Trepidation layered each step as he approached the door leading to Papyrus' room. He knocked on the door.

"hey, kiddo, c'mon out. i've got food ready."

There was the abrupt sound of someone scrambling to their feet, then the doorknob clanked slightly at the same time Frisk cried out. "Ow!"

Sans raised an eyebrow at Frisk as they opened the door, rubbing their head and grimacing. On the other hand, it probably counteracted the skeleton's grin quite nicely.

"what happened, kid?"

Frisk's face flushed and their eyes were downcast- though from shame or embarrassment (or both) Sans couldn't tell. Probably both. "I was sitting against the door and you startled me. Hit my head on the doorknob when I stood."

Sans' grinned widened as he stepped back and flourished elegantly, pressing a hand against the door to keep it open (the house was bit on quite the hill. Sans didn't bother to point this out to Papyrus when the exuberant skeleton selected the plot of land.) as Frisk exited. "guess you should be grateful that you can be such a _bonehead_ , huh?"

Frisk stared at Sans blankly. The skeleton's grinned dropped disappointedly.

"c'mon, kid, laugh a little. that was genius. you could say it was quite…"

Frisk's eyes widened in alarm as they sensed what was about to come next.

"… _humorous."_

The human made a face (nowhere near as satisfying as one of Papyrus' angry rants about puns) "Sorry."

Sans just sighed dramatically as Frisk followed their nose downstairs. They stared at the plates of spaghetti on the table, a funny look on their face. Sans breezed past the human and scooped up the plates, then plopped on the couch and flipped on the TV.

Sans munched on the halfway-to-decent spaghetti _(give him another year and his food might even be edible…),_ gesturing towards the end of the couch. Frisk silently obeyed, accepting the plate Sans offered out to them. They twirled their spaghetti around their fork, lost in thought.

"meatball for your thoughts?" Sans speared a meatball with his fork and playfully held it out to Frisk. Their lips twitched in what Sans recognized as a reluctantly-not-exactly-happy-but-this-is-admittedly-humorous smile, but shook their head.

Good. Meatballs were the only thing Pap made well.

"I'm just… thinking," Frisk muttered.

"i can see that much," Sans returned, chomping on the meatball. "care to share?"

"…If I could do it over again…" Frisk began. The tone of their voice was what caught San's attention.

It always varied from time to time if the human was aware of their SAVE/RELOAD/RESET powers, and to what extent that meant also varied. But it usually meant a SAVE had been loaded at least once, which also meant the Ruins- sometimes Toriel- had given the kid a _**bad time**_.

Sans sort of wished he didn't get that tight feeling of concern in his chest at the thought. _But this was his Frisk, even if Papyrus was gone._

"what will you do if you do it over again?"

Frisk's head snapped around, wide-eyed at Sans' wording. He just continued grinning, though it was tense enough that the kid was able to tell he was one hundred percent serious.

"I… I wouldn't do anything," Frisk breathed slowly, intimidated by the blue flickering at the corner of Sans' eye socket. "I'd sit there until I… until I died, or something." Sans' fingers clenched in his hoodie pocket. "Then I couldn't hurt anyone ever again."

Sans swallowed, and, tilting his head to one side, closed his left eye in a wink. It stayed closed for a few seconds while he calmed himself. "i've been watching you since you emerged from those ruins, buddy. you've not hurt anyone on purpose. you dying would be meaningless. accidents happen everyday. mother nature can have a real mean streak, too. pap… he just… accidents happen."

 _don't talk like this, kid, i hate when you get this way…_

"Believe me," Frisk tucked their head into their arms, which were crosses over their knees. The human's words were muffled through their self-shielding. "I know."

"…what's that supposed to mean, kid?" Sans asked slowly, grin dropping a little as he began turning their words around in their head.

"…Nothing." Frisk turned away. "I was just… thinking. About where I came from."

Sans raised an eye ridge, hardly daring to believe Frisk's words. The kid had never mentioned their life before becoming the Final Fallen Child. Even when asked, they would skillfully manage to deflect the conversation onto safer topics. Sans hadn't manage to gather the tiniest bit of factual info about Frisk's life Above, but he certainly picked up enough circumstantial evidence to form the horrifying theory he'd managed to develop. All the little tell-tale signs were there.

Frisk hated to be left alone, and they had used the term "abandon" more than once in reference to being left. They flinched at loud noises, always cringing away from Papyrus and Undyne before registering who they were. And the look of horror that crossed their face whenever someone would surprise them (again, usually Papyrus and Undyne, but Mettaton liked to drop by every so often whenever they made it out)… it was too obvious to miss, at least for someone like Sans.

Sans didn't press Frisk. They would open up whenever they were ready, even though they had just dangled the bait in front of Sans and expected him _not_ to bite.

He could be good, sometimes.

Besides, opening up to the very scary brother of the guy you just killed could get a little awkward, Sans mused.

 _stop thinking like that, bonehead. it's not like you won't see pap again anyways._

"Sans?"

The skeleton glanced over at Frisk, who had managed to force down some of the spaghetti. He grinned a little. "sup, kiddo?"

"…" They shifted, obviously highly uncomfortable. "I'm not wanted anywhere, am I?"

Sans gave them an evaluating look. "what makes you say that?"

 _goddamit, kid, since when are you all doom and gloom?_

Frisk shruged. "Everyone either says it or implies it." A side glance at Sans. "Or lies to themselves about it."

Sans' fingers cracked as he flexed his fingers, tight from having clenched them so hard. Frisk flinched.

"don't think you know me well enough to know when i'm lying, _**kid**_." Frisk paled and scrambled back as Sans' eye flickered blue. "if i didn't want you here than you wouldn't be here. _**at al**_ _ **l**_ _ **. . ."**_

"…kay," Frisk breathed, petrified. They scrambled for their plate and, calmly standing and ignoring their shaking legs, walked steadily into the kitchen. There was the sound of the faucet running, dishes clanking, and a chair being dragged. Sans was slightly intrigued, but not enough to really confront the kid again. They had been given enough heart attacks for the night.

 _this really isn't like me… i need to take a walk or something. kid's got me all worked up._

Sans sighed, slumping into the couch.

 _pap would be so disappointed in me… picking on a little kid._

The sound of chair legs squealing against the kitchen floor tiles and Frisk's startled cry was all the warning Sans received. The skeleton was up and in the kitchen doorway in an instant, one hand raised to surround the kid with blue magic and halt them in midair, the back of their head inches away from smacking against the stove behind them. Frisk was trembling in midair as the chair finished its descent, clattering against the ground. Sans gently lowered the child to the ground.

"…you okay, kiddo?"

Frisk nodded curtly, their hands shaking badly. Sans breathed a sigh of relief, laying one of his own bony hands on top of their head.

"Good."


	3. Come Back Later, Undyne

**Hey guys. Nice to see you so soon, eh? Well, I'm sick today, so I may even get a good chapter cushion going. Hope so.**

 **Anyways, this one is more filler/bonding/character development than anything exciting (and a good five hundred words or so shorter). Undyne's still throwing a fit. However, you'll see her in the next one.**

 **And again, thank you so much for everyone's kind words. They fill me with DETERMINATION.**

 **Disclaimer: Naaaaah. The time put into this amazing game was more than my work ethic could ever handle.**

* * *

Sans set the plate in front of Frisk, along with the ketchup bottle (with the lid secured tightly).

"there you go, kiddo."

"Thanks, Sans."

The two had settled into a slighty uncomfortable routine. Sans would head out in the morning to "work" until noon, then would return with a couple burgers from Grillby's (the spaghetti could only last so long), then would spend the afternoon with Frisk. Things weren't completely alright yet, and Sans still had a hard time restraining a flinch every time the human startled him, but it was slowly calming. He began to figure out this Frisk was a bit different from the others he had met. Most Frisks of the other timelines were concerned with either death or escape. And he never knew which to expect, either, when they stepped out from that door. But this Frisk… this time the kiddo, with their own SOUL intact, had still taken a life, though through accident. The innocence that calm Frisk usually held had shattered with Papyrus, and Sans wasn't quite sure how to handle this new divergence of the timeline.

Usually, the "timeline path" split into three main branches, each of those with little mini offshoots that eventually reconnected at different points. One was what he dubbed the Frisk Alone route, where the human by themself made it back out of the barrier (or decided to stay with the monsters, which happened more often than Sans would care to think about at the moment). This was the one that happened the most often. The other route, which was a rare occurrence, was one where Frisk managed to free everyone from the Underground and everyone was happy. Sans didn't understand why the kid would reset that ending the few times they made it happen, but each time the skeleton thought they had finally made it out, he found himself back at the station post on the road to Snowdin. And the last, and far more chilling trail, was the Murderer Path. This had only happened a few times, but the image of pathways pooled with blood, dust flung about everywhere, slashed open mercilessly, Papyrus _vanishing_ due to that _damn kid…_ Sans himself, being cut down by his best friend.

Well.

Those images didn't fade very quickly. (And he wasn't sure why those endings were reset either. Did the kid really grow to love killing them that much, or was it their own SOUL, the real Frisk, fighting back?)

However, _this_ Frisk, this incarnation of his friend, was different from any of the aforementioned Frisks. As much as the human had thought before, and had been quiet, at least they had offered a retort or a giggle in response to one of Sans' endless puns. Now, even when Sans pulled out his _best_ jokes ( _hey, kid, how did skeletons send letters way back when? by the bony express!)_ , all he got was that sad lip twitch. It was really beginning to annoy him. Frisk had also become anti-social, and while they were always an introvert, they never really locked themselves away for more than an hour or so. It took Sans thirty minutes of coaxing to get the child to leave Papyrus' room each day he came home.

And even then, they were near silent.

He glanced over at Frisk, who, he noted, looked paler than usual. They were curled up at the end of the lumpy green couch, a blanket lazily tossed over their shoulders. The burger had grease pooling in the little shallow dip in the center of the bun. The child's eyes were staring vacantly at the TV. Sans turned the volume down a little.

"what's up, kiddo?"

"…Um." Frisk shifted in their seat, their gaze focusing on the present once more. "I think Undyne's looking for you… She came by today, screaming and ranting…"

Something in Sans' chest stilled, but the tightening of his lackadaisical grin was the only outward sign of his worry. "did she now? did she find you?"

Frisk shook their head. "No, I hid in the cabinet under the sink. She almost looked there, I think, but someone called her phone and she left…" They swallow. Sans could see a tiny hand press against their abdomen. Ah, yes. Spear. "I hate it when I'm on her bad side…"

"me too," Sans murmured, pondering if he should go make a social call to Undyne's place. If it would keep her away from the kid… He glanced up at Frisk, who had only taken a small bite from their burger. Sans forced his smirk back to his face. "eat up, kid. she won't find you here, i promise."

"But you're gone half of the day!" Frisk's head snapped up to meet Sans' gaze with a heavy, worried stare. "What if she comes here again? What if she finds me? What if-"

They cut themselves off, chomping out a big bite out of the burger. Sans raised an eye ridge.

"what if…?"

Frisk took their time chewing their bite, avoiding Sans' gaze. They swallowed. "Nothing."

"stop lyin', kid. you're not fooling anybody," Sans leaned back in his seat. "what if what?"

Frisk's tiny fingers played absently with the plastic that had wrapped their greasy burger. "…what if you let her…?"

Sans sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he reeled in his temper. "kid, i promised papyrus i would look out for you. that includes undyne attacks."

"I know, but…" Frisk looks away, tugging the blanket closer around them like a shield. Misery graced their face heavily. "…is that… the only reason you'd… I mean…"

Sans crossed his arms. "i get the gist of it, kid, don't hurt yourself."

Frisk watched Sans expectantly, but the skeleton sat there a moment, collecting his thoughts.

"i…" Sans stopped himself, shaking his head lightly. Disjointed memories of fun times with the human flitted through his mind. Snowball fights, sledding, pun-offs, pranking… "no, kiddo, that's not the only reason. but-"

Frisk blinked as Sans reached across the couch and poked their nose, grinning.

"-any other reasons are _tibia_ nnounced."

The kid stared at him. "That was pretty bad." A slow grin began crossing their face. "You could say it was even…"

No. No way, the kid hadn't cracked one joke in the few weeks they'd been-

"… _bone dry."_

They _did._

Sans' beaming smile widened and he laughed, relived that Frisk was going to let the conversation go and seemed to be slowly recuperating. Frisk gave Sans an honest smile. It even halfway reached their eyes.

"yeah, kid." Sans turned his attention back to the TV to hide the emotion in his gaze, raising the volume back up to an audible level. "you and me? we'll make it just fine."

"I'm _patella'n_ you." Frisk beamed.

Sans playfully reached over and flipped the corner of their blanket over their head.

"finish your burger, kiddo."


	4. Nice, Undyne, Now We Have a Story

**Hi again, guys! Back with another chapter. I...don't have much to say this go except HOW DOES ONE END CHAPTERS RIGHT?**

 **Thank you all so much for your favorites and follows and reviews. My mom and I got into a fight about my writing and it made me lose all inspiration to write anything, but reading your reviews and seeing the numbers go up was really helpful in getting back into a writing state of mind. So really, thank you.**

 **Disclaimer: Pfffffft nope.**

* * *

"hey, undyne," Sans leaned in the doorway as the Captain of the Royal Guard opened the door. She was dressed in her armor, her helmet tucked under her arm. He grinned wildly at her glare. "talk of the town is you're looking for me."

"Yeah, punk, I am," Undyne growled, stepping outside and closing the door behind her. She shifted her lightly scaled body as if to cage Sans in- although they both knew Sans could easily get away. "Papyrus hasn't been seen for days. Where is he?"

Sans' grip on the letter in his pocket tightened and his smile strained. "pap is… he's…"

Undyne's face drained of color. Her teeth ground together. "Wait… don't tell me… did the human he told me about…"

The look on the skeleton's face was all the answer the Undyne needed. She snarled and turned, throwing her fist into the plaster of her house. The siding splintered and cracked, giving completely away at her next furious punch.

"I'll _kill_ that little… _Aargh!_ " She turned a fierce glare on Sans. "How are you still _smiling?!_ "

"easily," Sans lied. "i know what pap would have me do, so i can at least do that."

"Right." Undyne summoned a spear. A sapphire glow reflected off Sans' skull, reminding him of his own power. "We track down the human and take it's SOUL!"

 _how could she ever think papyrus would want that?_ Then again, from the look on her face, she was still probably focused solely on getting revenge for the fallen skeleton.

"um… guess again." He briefly considered if showing Undyne the letter would be a good idea. On one hand, it might get Undyne to allow the human to pass. On the other… she would know for sure that Sans was housing the fugitive.

Dilemma.

Still, Undyne looked like she was taken aback. "Wh-what do you mean? Yeah, Papyrus had the kindest SOUL any monster or human could ever have, but he would still want us to eliminate the threat before anyone else got hurt!"

"you're assuming the kid did it on purpose."

Undyne's expression was almost comical. Sans, who found almost anything comical, thought it was especially so. That eternal grin of his widened.

"Humans themselves are murderous," Undyne insisted, a spear flashing into her hand. "Don't you remember the dancer? The chef guy? The _other_ child? They _all_ took out a good handful of us before I was able to take them out! All of them!"

Sans shook his head. "not this one. it was, believe it or not, an accident. papyrus himself said so."

Undyne's hand shot out, snatching up a fistful of Sans' jacket. Blue fire, tinted with gold, began flickering in the corner of his left eye. "Sans. Papyrus is DEAD. And I'm SORRY, but I have to worry about those who still LIVE. I CANNOT allow a murderer to roam free!"

"not even after this?" Sans offered out the note Papyrus left for him to Undyne, who snatched it up. Sans had to repress a glare at her harsh treatment of the note. Regret pooled in Undyne's gaze as she scanned the message. She closed her eyes as she handed the paper back to Sans, then fitted her helmet on her head.

"I can't. I'm sorry, Sans. I'm sorry, Papyrus…" The helmet clicked back into place. "But I can't. I can't allow any more deaths at human hands."

"well," Sans chuckled bitterly. "that's a _bone_ -ified shame."

The flame resting in his eye socket flared brightly as Sans clenched his fist and raised his arm abruptly, jerking Undyne's SOUL up. The Royal Guard yelped as she slammed into the wooden overhang above her porch. Sans flung her to the side, then to the top of the cavern. With a cry, Undyne fell to the floor. Sans approached her leisurely as the woman's spear sparked into her hand. The tip embedded into the dirt as Undyne used it to support herself when she tried to stand.

" _Bastard_ ," she hissed, struggling to her feet. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

"stay away from the human," Sans grinned up at Undyne, easily stepping the spear chunked at him.

"Sans," Undyne growled. " _DON'T do this!"_

"what? you have a bone to pick with me or something?" Sans smirked. "but i'm finding this rather _humorous_."

"You have the human, don't you?" Undyne lunched, pulling back her spear. "TELL ME WHERE THEY ARE!"

Bones burst from the ground in a spray of dirt, emitting a blue, smoky wisps. They danced around Undyne, who snarled through her teeth and batted several down.

"Sans, don't _do this! Don't make me do this to Papyrus!"_ Her voice sounded truly anguished at the thought, but Sans couldn't find it in himself to care as Undyne leapt over the bones, twisting nimbly as they flew past her. Sans snapped his fingers, fire dancing playfully over his gaze. It splayed eagerly as more bones sprung from the earth. They managed to cage in Undyne, who swatted at the layers with her spears. Sans strolled up to the corralled monster, smirking.

"now, undyne." Sans leaned against one corner, "you're going to forget about the kid, or i can assure you, it's _tibia_ bad time for you."

"You do this, Sans, and you'll be a fugitive _with_ the human!" Undyne slams a spear into a weak part of the cage. The bones splintered under the pressure. Sweat beaded on Sans' skull. He only grinned wider.

"pap wanted the kid safe," Sans backed up, heading towards the nearest shortcut in time that was closest to one near his house. "so that's what i'm going to do. tootles, undyne."

"Sans!"

The skeleton turned and began walking away, casually waving over his shoulder as he turned the corner. The bones fell, clattering to the ground as he entered the shortcut.

"SANS!"

"Sans?" Frisk jumped from their spot curled up on the couch, eyes wide. They struggled to untangle themselves from the blanket. They froze at the sight of the dark look in his eyes, despite his easy smile. "Sans, what's going on?"

"we need to go, kiddo." Sans grinned at Frisk. "i may or may not have pissed off the royal guard and may or may not have told her that you may or may not be here."

Frisk pales at the mention of Undyne. They begin trembling, hands beginning to wring the soft blanket back in forth. Sans gently rested his hands on their shoulders as Frisk's breath became shallower and quicker.

"U-Undyne… Undyne knows I'm here…?"

"hey…" Sans tugged Frisk into his arms, vague memories from past timelines reminding him that hugs were always a surefire way to calm Frisk down. "kiddo, you're going to be okay. i won't allow undyne to get you. but we need to go _now_ if we're going to get out of here before she gets here, okay?" He winks. "besides, between you and i, we have more spine than undyne could ever dream of, okay?"

Frisk nodded, sniffling as they pull away and scrubbing their eyes with the sleeve of their jacket (borrowed off of Sans). Sans nodded and instructed Frisk to gather runaway provisions (" _bone-visions"._ _ **"Sans.")**_ , then trekked up the stairs to grab the important stuff.

Like the lockbox under his bed that was impervious to the time shenanigans of the resets. It held various items from last runs. A couple gifts from the kid, a few dust covered items to remind him said kid wasn't always good, and his journal detailing important day to day activities and holding his notes. Sans placed Papyrus' note inside the box and locked it. He chunked it inside a bag and stuffed in a few changes of clothes.

Frisk could be heard rummaging through the kitchen for food, hopefully grabbing all the healing items they could. Sans slung the bag over his shoulder and paused in Papyrus' room to grab a couple of Pap's favorite action figures and stash them carefully in the bag. He smiled bitterly at the sack.

"i tried to get there in time, bro. i'm so sorry i failed. but i _will_ protect the kid. just like you asked."

"Sans?"

The skeleton straightened, heading down the stairs. "got everything, buddy?"

"Yeah." Frisk nodded, hefting their own bag over their shoulder. They glanced nervously at the door.

"great." Sans opened the door and waved elegantly. "our fugitive journey awaits."


	5. Determinaton Discoveries

**Yo! Been a while. I struggled with this one, I'll be honest. I've been plagued with other Undertale story plots (so keep an eye out! ;). But I got it out, eventually. Um. Lemme know what you guys want to see, I'll definitely try to work it in.**

 **ALSO SHAMELESS PLUG I STARTED A VOICE ACTING THING ON TUMBLR HAHAHA. (link on profile)**

 **Thank you everyone who favorited and reviewed and followed. You guys fill me with fuzzy feelings.**

 **DISCLAIMER: Nope. Now, Read.**

* * *

Sans and Frisk huddled together in the tall grass, each trying to breathe as quietly as possible. In Sans' case that meant simply not breathing at all. Frisk had the sleeve of their jacket pressed to their mouth and their face buried in Sans' shoulder to muffle their near hyperventilation.

Steel boots _shink-_ ed into the ground as the Captain of the Royal Guard slowly, steadily approached the hidden duo. Sans tugged Frisk closer, his gaze narrowed in determination (with a lowercase 'd'. He wouldn't touch the other with a twenty-foot pole). His permi-grin was tight, more of a wide grimace than anything. His eye socket flared with a bright blue as the grasses shifted with Undyne's approach. Undyne paused right in front of them and Sans glanced over his shoulder- the nearest time-space glitch/shortcut ( _glitch-cut?_ his subconscious wondered in an effort to distract him from the stress of the situation) was only a few yards away. He could nab the kid's SOUL to make it easier to drag them with him as he ran for i-

His own SOUL dropped as the obvious sound of the Captain's strike connecting with something resounded through the air. The kid stiffened in his arms and his bones nearly snapped under the speed his head whipped around. Frisk clung tight to him, eyes wide and breathing halted, but visibly unharmed- although their hair was settling back around their shoulders, having been caught by the wind surrounding the force of Undyne's strike. Sans' eyebrow ridges came together in relief and confusion.

 _if not the kid, then who did undyne…?_

He dismissed the thought as Undyne's boots clomped off. The heaviness surrounding his SOUL lessened with each step Undyne took away from them. Frisk's death grip on Sans' jacket loosened warily and their breathing slowly returned to normal. The human tilted their head up, a relieved smile on their face- until they yelped and scrambled away from the skeleton, face paler than before. Sans stared at them, dumbfounded.

 _what? what could be so-_ _ **o h.**_

Sans quickly cupped his boned hand over his blue eye as he began to coral the power back into his core. Frisk slowly calmed, the hand that had been curled in the fabric of their shirt over their heart slowly dropping. Sans grinned at them easily as his own hand fell from his face. The human seemed relieved to see the usual white glow of his pupils, even if they were still slightly contracted.

"hey, kid, didn't mean to scare you," he laid a hand on top of Frisk's head, casually ignoring their flinch. His joints clacked together lightly as he withdrew his hand, a few thin strands of brown hair clinging to the bone. Sans grinned. "losing your hair already, kid? I thought you were young and spry for a human's age."

"Stress," came the curt reply as they began pushing their way through the grass. Sans followed, shaking the strands off his bones.

"understandable," Sans agreed. "that was quite the _hair-raising_ experience."

" _Sans,"_ the kid groaned, despite the grin threatening the corners of their lips.

He forged on. "i mean, she missed you by a hair's breadth."

Frisk couldn't fight the giggles any longer. Laughter bubbled from their lips, though the slight hysteria echoing through the cackling brought Sans' mind back to darker timelines.

Each of the dup reached out to pull apart the final curtain of grass.

" _FINALLY!"_

An orange, spiked head practically popped out at them. Frisk yelped and accidentally backpedaled into Sans, who released the grass to catch the stumbling kid by their shoulders.

"I thought you guys were NEVER going to get out of there!" The young monster child leapt about happily, tossing their head about and beaming widely. "But did you SEE THAT?! Undyne… SHE TOUCHED ME! I'm never washing my face ever again!"

Frisk's shoulders shook under Sans' touch, It took him a second to figure out the kid was giggling, amused by the Monster Kid's antics. Sans just grinned as always, relieved to hear less hysteria in the laughter this time. Monster Kid turned to Frisk.

"Man, are you unlucky. If you were standing just a _little bit_ to the left…"

Frisk chuckled weakly at the thought. "Yeah. I'd have died from excitement."

Any other topic and Sans would have been proud.

"Yo, don't worry! I'm sure we'll see her again!" Monster Kid jumped happily. "Well, c'mon! Maybe we'll be able to catch her in action if we get moving!"

Sans and Frisk exchange a glance. On one hand, if Monster Kid were to spot Undyne and call out to her, they were done for unless Sans managed to drag Frisk to a glitch-cut fast enough. On the other, however, the Monster Kid didn't seem to be aware that Frisk was a human nor that Sans wasn't someone good children currently associated with. Y'know, what with the whole _running away with a fugitive murderer_ and all. It would be easiest to keep young MK from realizing that.

Sans made a decision and nodded easily, grinning. "sounds like a plan. let's go."

The Monster Kid hopped happily and began running ahead. Then, having no arms to help balance him, he fell. On his face. Sans imagined that happened a lot, if the constant black eye and the easy way the child picked himself back up and continued on was any indication.

Frisk sagged beside Sans, their eyes slipping closed. The skeleton poked the human's cheek, an eye ridge raised. One tanned eyelid slid open to gaze tiredly at the monster.

" _bone_ tired, kid?" Frisk grunted, reluctantly straightening. Sans received a glare for his punning efforts. "don't let it get under your skin."

They giggled weakly. "Funny. But you need to branch out to more than just skeleton puns."

"sure kid," Sans agreed amiably, casually slinging an arm around Frisk's shoulder. He seemed to ignore the way the child would lean against him. In return, the kid overlooked how heavy and guarded the arm laying across their shoulders was. "i'll try to go on a limb next time."

Frisk groaned, grinning.

The two made their way down the corridor, leaning on each other. A shining light came into view at the end of the hallway and Sans felt a sigh- presumably one of relief- escape Frisk. Sans glanced over curiously at the human as they approached the light.

"what's up, pal?"

The pair paused before the glowing, twinkling ball of light. Frisk reached out for it, then paused, a strange look crossing their face. Sans watched them quizzically, sliding his hands into his pocket. He wanted to touch it.

Frisk's voice shook. "I-I can heal here… regain my hit points…"

"so _hit_ that glowing thing up." Sans winked, relief flooding through him. He would be able to stop worrying about the kid simply dropping with each step.

"I can't." Of course not. The unspoken _unless_ hung in the air. "Not without SAVING."

Sans' hands clenched in his pocket. He had never actually seen the kid SAVE before, but, with the new knowledge that it took the light orb, realized the kid couldn't have ever SAVED since before Papyrus' death. They had never left the house since Sans had taken them in. His SOUL trembled in his core, practically humming from the painful conclusion.

For Frisk to continue, they would have to save over a time before Papyrus' death.

Unless he killed them right then. They wouldn't even remember, probably.

Frisk watched him, sad, narrow eyes already seeming to have guessed Sans' thoughts. That, if anything, only reaffirmed his resolution. Sans locked gazes with the child.

 _no._

Sans shook his head, firmly repeating his mantra to himself ( _pap wants the kid alive, this is my frisk i know this frisk)._

"hit. it. up. pal."

Frisk flinched at his tone, but reached out for the orb. The light latched onto their hands, slowly climbing up their fingers. The child sighed softly in relief as their body was enveloped in the soft light. Their eyes slipped closed contentedly. Sans watched warily as Frisk seemed to be re-energized entirely. They sighed in satisfaction.

"…Okay." The glow slowly leeched away from them, pooling in their up-turned palms before pulling away with a gentle _pop!_ bobbing its way back to its original position. Frisk turned to the waiting skeleton, determination- no, he realized with a chill, DETERMINATION- shining in their eyes. "I'm ready to go now, if you're good to go."

"course, kiddo." Sans grinned warily at Frisk, suddenly thankful he had resisted the impulse to touch the orb. Images of distorted blobs of fused, deceased monsters flashed through his mind and he barely repressed a shudder. He was _very_ glad he didn't touch the orb.

"S…Sans?"

The skeleton's gaze snapped up to Frisk, who had managed to make it to the end of the cavern hallway before noticing he wasn't beside them. Sans strolled towards the human.

"hold your horses, buddy, i'm on my way."

Frisk tilted their head, watching him cautiously. "Are…you okay?"

"just fine." Sans winks, brushing off the inquiry. "let's trot along now."

"…you're good at deflecting concern," Frisk muttered under their breath, as if Sans wouldn't hear them. Their eyes widened as they registered their own words, shock filtering over their expression. Their hands clapped over their mouth in horror as they backpedaled away. "I-I mean, I… I'll get some Nice Cream for you!"

Sans stared after Frisk as they bolted, face blank. He supposed they remembered the Nice Cream Man ahead from a previous run. Geez.

 _this kid is so weird._


End file.
